Weekend Edition #5
Spring always puts me in a house & garden state of mind (well, minus the garden because I live in a city apartment), so...let's talk interiors!
Hello!
I have a theory that all fashion people are secretly interior design people. It’s just that when you’re a kid, your outfits are your primary form of decoration so that’s where your energy goes. Unless you have agreeable parents, and they let you have at your bedroom. Luckily, I did. So while I can still remember my favorite outfits, I better remember one of my favorite feelings, which was when my parents let me move my bed and dresser around a few feet and take a trip to Ikea for inexpensive but wonderous curvy mirrors and trinkets. It was like I’d created an entirely new world for myself. I was giddy at the possibilities I had, now that I could lay this way or that on the newly revealed swath of carpet and spread all my projects around me.
But fashion, for the most part, always felt more accessible. It filled the pages of the magazines I read, and shopping at the mall was one of the few activities suburban kids could do more or less on their own. (“Meet me at the Rainforest Cafe entrance at 8PM.”) I pursued any fashion-related extracurriculars in college that I could (I was the “fashion editor” for the college magazine, a costume designer for the student theatre productions, and the president of the fashion club that hosted runway shows every year), and then that turned into a career when Abercrombie & Fitch recruited on campus my senior year.
I went to architecture camp for one week the summer after fourth grade, and a part of me wishes I had pursued something further in that space than just creating the world’s coolest cardboard rooftop pool with a slide that went down to a roller-skating rink. Alas, I didn’t, but now that I’m grown up and have a few more rooms to call my own, those walls have become canvases for me to express my passion for design. I still like shopping and picking my outfit out for the day, but I love looking for new side tables and ceramics, discovering new designers and artists, and rearranging furniture.
Designing interiors is much more of a commitment than choosing clothes. Wall colors are more permanent, furniture is heavy, well-made sustainable decor can be expensive. However, I’ve found some amazing inspiration and resources through social media (using its power for good!!) and thought I’d share my favorites in case anyone else is doing some spring cleaning and refreshing their space!
x Lindsay
My Furniture & Decor Favorites (we’ll talk art in a future Weekend Edition!)
Lanoba Design is my go-to source for vintage mid-century Danish furniture, straight from Denmark. Owned by Lars and his partner, Lanoba Design features teak and rosewood tables, chairs, dressers, other furniture, ceramics, lighting, and decor that Lars finds in homes around the country on his bi-monthly visits to Denmark. Each new collection is shipped to Jersey City where Lars refurbishes and supervises the entire process to bring these treasures back to life. The warehouse is open to the public on weekends, and you can also browse and shop a limited selection on their website.
portmanteau is a vintage + design studio (by appointment) based in Long Island City with an excellent Instagram presence @portmanteau.nyc. Trevon Warren + Zachary Allen travel the country searching for special pieces to bring back to New York and present in a beautiful, inspiring curation. When you see something online that you love, you have to move fast. These found objects are often one-of-a-kind, and I still dream about some that I’ve missed. They also hand-deliver to NYC and are an absolutely lovely small business.
Forsyth is a Saint Louis-based gallery presenting antique and 20th-century furniture, contemporary art, and home objects. Founded in 2015 by sisters Maggie Kidd and Anne Genovese, and artist John O-Hara, Forsyth is known for unique and gorgeous furniture, restored and updated with surprising and luxurious fabrics. If I had millions of dollars and a gigantic house, I’d fill it with everything on offer at Forsyth. For now, I mostly look and dream but I was able to snag some amazing mid-century chairs a few years ago that they’d reupholstered with the fashion designer Isabel Marant’s silk wool scarves. (I also missed out on another set of chairs that I later found in the basement lair of the J.Crew Men’s Shop on Madison Avenue. Lucky ducks/customers.) Their prices have escalated as their reputation and collections have grown, but take a look. Maybe you’ll find something in your budget that makes your heart sing and your spirit soar in the best way possible.
Howie recovered her pillows in her old Hermes scarves back in the day! I always threaten to throw them out not but she insists they are still looking good!